


Love is not a victory march

by Ephemera_pop (Alex_Draven)



Category: Popslash
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Working stiffs, Family is important, M/M, death of a family member
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-10-02
Updated: 2006-10-02
Packaged: 2018-10-17 00:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10582221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alex_Draven/pseuds/Ephemera_pop
Summary: Chris stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and hunched his shoulders against the chill. The heating had been off in this building for some time, and even with the boiler chugging away in the basement now it was still cold.  The bleak stretch of yard was spotted with dirty snow but, if the louring grey clouds were anything to go by, there'd be more snow to top it off soon.He always took Joey for a walk-through of any property he was thinking of buying, ever since they'd been looking for their first, the store he'd bought with the ink still wet on the lottery check. They'd both been blown away by the fact that suddenly the realtors were taking them seriously.It had been Chris's ticket that came up, but they'd both won.





	

**Author's Note:**

> p>Written for [](http://raynedanser.livejournal.com/profile)[**raynedanser**](http://raynedanser.livejournal.com/)'s [2006 Chris Challenge,](http://pixeestyx.livejournal.com/15313.html), and inspired by [this image.](http://pics.livejournal.com/ephemera_pop/pic/00005qkp/g5). As always, many many thanks to beta team alpha for services above and beyond the call of duty :D

Chris stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and hunched his shoulders against the chill. The heating had been off in this building for some time, and even with the boiler chugging away in the basement now it was still cold. The bleak stretch of yard was spotted with dirty snow but, if the louring grey clouds were anything to go by, there'd be more snow to top it off soon.

He always took Joey for a walk-through of any property he was thinking of buying, ever since they'd been looking for their first, the store he'd bought with the ink still wet on the lottery check. They'd both been blown away by the fact that suddenly the realtors were taking them seriously.

It had been Chris's ticket that came up, but they'd both won.

"So, what do you think?"

"How many units is it, again?"

"This three-bed, two two-beds, two singles."

Joey threw an arm around Chris's shoulders, and Chris's arm automatically found its place at Joey's waist, and gave him a squeeze.

"I think you picked another good one."

Chris caught himself smiling. Renting accommodation in a student town was easy money, if you had the start-up cash. Even doing things well above code, because you wanted to look at yourself in the mirror of a morning, and keeping the rents reasonable, because you remembered what it was like to be worrying about the roll of bills in the kitchen drawer, Chris and Joey made a good living at it. The record store was more of a hobby these days, an excuse for collecting.

"The landscaping needs some work," Joey continued, "on top of putting down gravel for parking, but a lick of paint and some carpets, and we'll be good to go for the spring semester. Cam's crew's finishing off the Gramercy place next week. If we can get the paperwork through so they can get started, they could have this one ship shape by Thanksgiving. Unless you want to split this apartment? "

"No," Chris shook his head. "Three rooms and the yard? Even with what we're going to take out for parking, this would be a good family place."

They might be able to charge a few more dollars a month if they split the first floor into two units, but Chris also remembered trying to find rental property that would fit a mom and four and five kids, and the times when weekends at his Gram's house were the only time he ever felt warm.

"Okay, than." Joey smiled "I'll get Cam to sort out that piece of crap, in that case, and we'll put in a half-door to stop the kids wandering in and getting burnt."

He jerked his head to indicate the open galley kitchen, which would suit a student just fine. Joey had strong ideas about family dinners, though. Chris squeezed him again.

"You're a good guy, Fatone."

"Don't anyone be telling you different," Joey agreed easily.

** * **

Technically, Joey had his own place – the third-floor corner apartment of a brick-built conversion, with the freehold of the block to match. It had seemed like a sensible thing to do, when most of the business was in Chris's name. It just didn't mean that he spent a lot of time there.

The rooms about the record store were their real home, and with the wind blowing snow against the windows hard enough to make them rattle, there was nowhere Joey would rather be. Wrapped around Chris on the battered couch, with a fleece throw tucked over them, slick buttered popcorn warm in the bowl on the floor, and Vin Diesel getting shot at on screen – what would be better than this?

Chris pressed another nugget of corn to Joey's lips. Joey opened his mouth without taking his eyes of the screen, and then slowly dragged his tongue up the length of Chris's finger, bringing his focus to bear, so that by the time he met Chris's eyes his mouth was pursed around the finger tip, and if Chris wasn't picking up where his mind had gone …

Oh yeah. Chris shifted his weight, turning in to face Joey, his knee pressing into Joey's thigh, and that expression? Chris was so with the program.

Joey scraped his teeth lightly over the pad of Chris's finger before releasing it. Delicious. Almost as good as the slide of warm, salt-sweet lips, and the squirm and press of Chris moving so he was straddling Joey's lap, knees sinking into the cushions on either side, the seam of his jeans pressing down across Joey's crotch. Joey kissed back, slow, lewd tongues, and his hands tracing the shape of Chris's back, rucking up handfuls of shirts and skating over the taught expanse of denim. It wasn't urgent yet, but damn it was good. Chris's fingers pressed into Joey's scalp, holding him still, and Joey couldn't keep from moaning into the kiss.

His own hands tightened on Chris's butt, and Chris obligingly pressed closer, nipping at Joey's lower lip as they parted for breath, Chris looking down at Joey with a slight flush building on his cheekbones. Joey ducked up and under to snap at the bare skin of Chris's throat, and Chris jerked back, laughing.

"Vampire, " he teased, and Joey smiled his toothiest smile, while tightening his grip on Chris's waist.

"Gonna drain you." Joey was interrupted by the ringing of the phone.

"Hold that thought."

Chris's hand slid round, cupping Joey's face as Chris leaned over to snag the phone handset. Joey turned into the touch, kissing the skin between thumb and forefinger, as Chris said 'Hello?"

** * **

Outside looked so still, so perfect, like a stage set giving lie to the night's storms, the heaps of blackened plough-snow hidden out of sight, at the front of the house. Chris couldn't make him self stop looking.

Joey didn't say anything, although he'd obviously come looking. His body was just this presence behind Chris – Chris fancied that he could almost feel the heat radiating off him, in contrast to the cold seeping in around the edges of the plastic insulation on the window. Gram had always refused to let Chris pay for anything in her house, and getting her to let him hire some student from the University to come by and do the winter fixing had been a minor victory. Chris blinked hard and kept staring out into the frozen yard. He wouldn't have that fight to fight next year, and the tightness in his throat clamped down hard.

Through in the front room the voices of the minister and the funeral director were a polite murmur, and eventually Chris was going to have to pull himself away from the window and take a fresh pot of coffee through, and see his mom's empty eyes and the way his sisters were watching her, and watching him. Once the arrangements had been made, and they got to the telling of stories and the raising of glasses, maybe then it would be easier, but now …

Joey's hand was warm and gentle on Chris's shoulder, and he stepped closer, so he was touching, and Chris had an almost hysterical thought process, that Gram would be horrified if anyone came through to the kitchen and saw them like this – because she'd never liked the minister, and wouldn't have wanted the man in her kitchen, and because, on the surface, she liked to tease that she was some shockable old bird, when really, she was old enough to know that love wasn't a common enough thing to throw it away over something as silly as what people think. She'd told him that once, in this kitchen, three Christmas's ago.

His breath caught in his throat, and he inhaled one quick, short, shallow breath, and then Joey was pressed against him, Joey's arms crossed over his chest and shoulder, Joey's breath warm against his neck, and the tears were mostly silent, and only lasted a moment. His vision blurred with them, and he screwed his eyes shut, and just hung on, his own fingers stiff and cold where they wrapped around Joey's.

** * **


End file.
